Wow. It has been a
long time since I posted. I have so much
to post about just no time to post it!
My parents were saying that they could tell I had been busy because they
checked my blog and there was nothing! I
have written several blogs in my head and will try to cover it all…
In one of my last posts, I was excited about being hired as the part
time Volunteer Services Manager at the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society. I also had just be hired as a spin/cycling
instructor at the local gym. I signed up
to sub about 9 classes a week over a three week period because everyone was on
vacation.
The job at the Humane Society was way more than I had
anticipated and my head was swimming with all the amazing things I was learning
there and with all the things I wanted and needed to do. I was loving teaching cycling. If I had known that I would be starting another
job, I probably wouldn’t have signed up for so many two a day classes! I found myself running from the gym to the
shelter and back to the gym. Rushing everywhere, always just a couple minutes
late.
Our August 21st, I got a call from my friends at
Rev3. They had a race coming up on
August 28th in Old Orchard Beach Maine. They were in a bit of a pickle with their
volunteer situation and wanted to know if I would help out between then and the
race. And would Trevor and I be able to
come to Maine to work race weekend.
Their Volunteer Director was having some medical issues that were
keeping her out longer than anticipated.
I said sure and then we tried to clear our schedule and figure out how to
get things planned.
I spent the next week filling every minute of free time with
emails and phone calls, planning and
creating documents for the race. For the
first time in a long time, maybe ever, I realized that I was totally over
committed. I had said yes to WAY too
many things. Yet I was excited about all
of them and so it wasn’t so bad. I just felt rushed every second of every
day. Like there just wasn’t enough time.
Trevor and I took the red eye to Boston on the Thursday before
the race, a week after we were invited to join Rev3 in Maine. The red eye seemed like a good idea, but as I
lay with my head on the tray table as if it were a pillow, I realized that the
red eye was NOT a good idea.
We arrived in Boston and made the two hour drive to Old
Orchard Beach. We were exhausted before
the weekend even began. Trevor had a
cold that was going downhill fast. I wasn’t so sure we would make it out of
Maine without a trip to the Emergency Room.
Over the weekend he just got worse and every time I saw him it made me
want to cry. But there was no other
choice except to power through and that’s what he did.
In true Rev3 fashion – the weekend was a whirlwind. The crew of about 20-30 people swooped in on
Thursday, built our own little city, put on an Olympic and 70.3 distance
triathlon for 1200 athletes. We had
about 400 volunteers. It was hectic and
crazy and a TON of work. It was also
fun, amazing and inspirational. I love
that Rev3 crew. They are hard workers
and good people. The 17-20 hour days
wear on you, but in the end, the finished product makes me proud and honored to
be a part of their team. By Sunday night
we were cleaned up. Monday we hit the road for home.
We got home Monday
night and hoped we could get some rest.
We had a new house sitter staying with our pets while we were gone. Our house is a lot of work, our pets are not
easy and this guy will not be returning.
He did a great job while we were gone and I was surprised when he said “sorry
it didn’t work out”. I guess Asha wasn’t
happy with the new sitter because she
didn’t sleep at all while we were gone.
Tuesday morning at 9:01, the phone rang. It was the shelter
(not mine, the other one in town that we foster for). They had a little doggie who needed to go to
a foster home. Wishbone was a little terrier/jack
Russell mix who was not doing well in the shelter. She had fear aggression and was labeled
unadoptable and put on the list for euthanasia.
Her last chance was to see how she would do in a home.
I was exhausted, Trevor was sick. We had no time or energy for anything else
and I picked Wishbone up that afternoon.
While I wasn’t sure I had it in me to help, I knew she was out of
chances and I couldn’t say no. This little
doggie changed my life.
Wishbone did great in our home, our other animals did great
with her. She ran and played, mimicked the
other dogs, learned from them. She sat
in the sun and slept with me at night.
She was a great dog and would be a great dog for some lucky family. We had a meet and greet with someone who
wanted to adopt her, they fell in love and she eventually went on to be a part
of their family.
I cried when I said goodbye to her. I loved her, I will always
love her. She is alive because of us and
there is no doubt about that. She gave
me the opportunity to feel good about myself.
I am proud of what we did for her and I love what she did for us. I have gotten some updates from her new mom.
Her name is now Bailey and she is adjusting well.
In the meantime, I had gotten another call from Rev3. Their Cedar Point, Ohio race was coming up on
September 9th and could Trevor and I come there too? We again scrambled to get everything
covered. The tricky part this time was
that we had our own triathlon that was taking place on the 9th. Every year we put on a sprint and Olympic distance
triathlon. We needed to find someone to
take that over for us. We also needed to
schedule a new house/pet sitter. Plus
get all our other stuff covered.
Our friend Brian, took on our triathlon, our Pet Sitting
company (Home Buddies) found us a great new sitter and we were able to get the
rest taken care of too. So it was off to
Ohio for another Rev3 Adventure!
This race was epic – Saturday would have a sprint and a kids
triathlon, Sunday would be a half and a full distance triathlon. Over 1900 athletes and 850 volunteers. We
again swooped in on Thursday and got all set up. Saturday morning we arrived at the race site
in the midst of a storm - gale force winds, pouring rain, rip current warnings in the lake. The sprint and kids races turned into runs.
Sunday morning, the weather was perfect and the longer distance races went off as planned. We arrived that morning around 4:30 am and did not get back to our hotel until almost 3 am the next morning.
We got up on Monday and spent the day packing up. We headed home on Tuesday and again hoped to get some rest. Right back at it, we hit the ground running.
All of the above could have had posts of their own, but this will have to suffice. If I tried to get them all done individually, it would never happen. We had another foster cat last week and currently have another foster dog. I will post about them on their own. This weekend I am in New Jersey for my 20 year high school reunion and hopefully I have the chance to post on that. I expect lots to talk about. Until then....stay tuned....
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